Fuel-supply system for internal-combustion engines.



C. CARSON. FUEL SUPPLY SYSTEM FOR INTEHRNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 8. 1914.

l L 'VQ, Patented A191'.` 25, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

C. CARSON. FUEL SUPPLY SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 8. 1914.

Patented Apr. 25, 1916.

- To all whom t may concern.'

Fll

will@ cannon causen, or new iro, n. Y.

Specicatieis Patent. Patented flipt". 259 llgffin,

Application filed cto'ber 8, 1914:. Serial No. 865,645. f

Be it known that l, CLARENCE CAnsoii, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved FueLSupply System for internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

rfhis invention relates to means for continuously supplying liquid fuel to the carbureters of internal combustion engines at constant pressure and its object is to provide a hermetically sealed reservoir, a pump for circulating an excess of fuel through the reservoir, and pipes for conveying the fuel from the main storage tank to the receptacle, for conveying the fuel from the receptacle to the carbureter, and for conveying the excess of fuel from the receptacle back to the tank.

This invention consists in the combination of parts shown in the accompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the claims.

ln the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the chassis of an automobile showing the tank, fuel receptacle, carbureter and the pipes between them. Fig. 2 is a section of the receptacle on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3. Fig 3 is a development of the receptacle when taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an elevation of a portion of a dashboard with thereceptacle shown in dotted lines. Fig. 5 1s a vertical section of a modified form of the receptacle on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

The fuel tanks of automobiles are usually so laced that the fuel will not flow to the car ureter Vor other fuel feeder by gravity. Means are often provided to maintain pressures ,in the tanks for the purpose of foro ing the fuel to the engines. If any leakage occurs, the fuel fails to flow and the engines stop running. rllhe present 'invention' 1s designed to obviate the necessity of maintaining this pressure in a simple and comparatively inexpensive manner.

ln the drawing, the engine 1. 1s at the front end ofthe chassis and the tank 2 at the rear end in the usual manner. rlhe carbureter 3 is of any desired type, or may be replaced by any other form of fuel feeder. The dashboardfl supports the fuel receptacle 5 from which a. feed pipe 6 connects to the fuel feeder; a suction pipel? extends to the tank, preferably to the lowest portion thereof; an overflpw pipe 8 also connectsv sists of a shell 11, a bottom 12 and a cap 13,

screwed into or otherwise secured to the shell. ened and formed with bosses to receive the pipes 6, 7 and 8. rlhe cylindrical ange la extends down and is preferably threaded to receive the disk 15, into'the center of which the pipe 9 connects. v rlhe edge of a diaphragm 16 is secured between the disk 15 and the bottom 12. rll`his diaphragm is of resilient sheet metal and is so formed that it will tend to normally be either Hat or slightly convex downwardly, that is, toward the pipe 9. At each explosion in the cylinder to which the pipe 9 is connected, the diaphragm is bent up into engagement with the lower side of the bottom 12, forcing any liquid in the space between the bottom and diaphragm up through the passage 18. A

ball 19 or other valve normally closes this.

passage 18 under pressure of a spring 20,

held down by a hollow plug 22, throughA which theliquid may flow into the vertical tube 23 and out ythrough the opening 24 in the upper end thereof. This tube is used to hold a column of fuel over the valve and thereby seal the same on its seat. 'The suction pipe 7 connects to the passage 26 that is normally closed by the valve 27 of any desired form, held in positionby the spring 28, which rests on the screw plug 29. A passage leads to the'space above the diaphragm so .that whenever the diaphragm moves down, fuel may flow past thev valve 27 through the passage 30 to this space above the diaphragm.

The cover 13 hermetically closes the upper end of the shell. A pipe 32,-whose upper end is at about the level of the hole 24:, carries all excess of fuel which may be forced up by the diaphragm from the receptacle to the small passage 33, whence it flows back to the tank through the pipe` 8. As stated before, a pipe 6 connects to the receptaclel and to the fuel feeder 3.

The diaphragm 16 vibrates at each explosion in the cylinder to which tlie pipe 9 is connected. At each vibration, fuel is drawn rlhe base of the shell may be thick` from the tank through the pipe 7 and is forced up through the pipe 23. As this is in excess of the amount which flows through the pipe 6 to the engine, a quantity flows back through the pipes 32 and 8 to the tank, and as this always flows from the upper or warmest part of the receptacle, the circula- ,36 of the receptacle be made of glass, as indicated in Fig. 5, and a metal frame 37 be secured in an opening in the dashboard, a

fall in` the usual level of the fuel in the receptacle may be quickly observed and proper steps taken while there is still suflicient fuel in the receptacle to carry the vehicle some distance. In this case, a plug 38 maybe secured in the pipe 23 and a nut 39 screwed down onto the cover 40` to hold it and the shell securely in position, T his plug and nut are also ,shpwn in Fig. 3. It sometimes occurs that ,because of leakage the fuel receptacle becomes drained While the vehicle is standing still, the fuel escaping through the carbureter. Instead of removing the cap 13 and filling the fuel receptacle, the following described mechanism may be employed. A piston rod 41 is slidable in the plug 38 and has a knob 42 at its upper end. A piston 43-at its lower end is slidable in the pipe23. The piston is hollow and has a seat 44' at its lower end for the ball valve 45, held in position by the spring 46. A passage 47 connects the small chamber within the piston 48 to the space above the piston. Normally, fuel will flow up past the ball valve 19 and the ballV valve 45 into the pipe 23 and through the hole 24 intol the receptacle. When it becomes necessary to ll the receptacle, the piston 43 is moved up and down, drawing fuel through the pipe 7- from the tank. In this case, the ball valve 19 may be omitted, although I prefer to retain it because it serves to 'render the construction more reliable. l Y

The advantage of the diaphragm'being mounted immediately against the bottom of the receptacle is that a minimum volume occurs between the diaphragm and the valves 19 and 27, a matter of extreme importance when very volatile fuels are used and when the engine is running very slowly or very fast. Furthermore, this particular form of mounting permits drainage of the space below the diaphragm and also the easy removal-of the diaphragm together with the impurities which have collected between the '-diaphragm and the disk 15. y

IWhile the shapes and proportions of the `flow pipe various parts may be varied to meet the requirements of the different automobile builders, such changes may all be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claimzl. In a fuel supply system for internal combustion engines, the combination of a frame, an engine mounted on the frame and having a carbureter, a fuel tank on the frame a distance from the engine, a sealed receptacle .mounted on the frame above the level of the carbureter, a diaphragm pump adjacent the receptacle, a pipe connecting the explosion chamber of the engine to the space on one side ofthe diaphragm of the pump, a suction pipe leading from .said tank to the space on the other side of the dia! phragm, a non-return valve in said suction pipe, a discharge pipe leading from said space on the other side of the diaphragm into the receptacle and having a discharge openingnear the top of the receptacle, a non-return valve in said discharge pipe, a feed pipe leading from the receptacle to the carbureter, and an overflow pipe leading from the top of the receptacle back to the tank.

2. In a fuel supply system, the combination ofan internal combustion engine provided with a carbureter and fuel tank, a fuel receptacle spaced apart from and mounted above the level of the carbureter, a feed pipe leading from the receptacle to the carbureter,.a diaphragm pump ,closing one end of the receptacle and having a discharge passage connecting to the receptacle, a valve in 4said discharge passage, 'a suction pipe connectin the pump to the tank, an overeading from the receptacle to the tank, and a pipe connectin the explosion chamber of the engine to sai pump.

3. In a fuel supply system, the combination of an internal combustion engine provided with a fuel feeder and a fuel tank, a fuel receptacle mounted above both of them, a feed pipe leading from the receptacle to the feeder, a diaphragm pump connected to said fuel receptacle by a discharge passage, a non-return valve in said passage, a suction pipe connecting said tank with the pump, an overflow pipe connecting the re lceptacle and tank, and a pressure pipe connecting the explosion chamber of the engine to said pump.

4. In a fuel supply system, the combination of an internal combustion engine provided with a fuel feeder and a fuel tank, a fuel receptacle mounted between the tank and the fuel feeder, a feed pi e leading from the receptacle to the fue feeder, a pump adapted to be operated by the explosions of the internal combustion engine, a suction pipe connecting the pump and the tank, and manually operable means for Macnee" causing the fuel to flow from the tank to the fuel receptacle.

5. In a -fuel supply system, the combination of an internal combustion engine provided With a fuel feeding device and a fuel tank, a fuel receptacle mounted between the feeding device and the tank, a feed pipe leading from the receptacle to the fuel feeding device, a pump adapted to be operated by the explosions of the internal combustion engine, the body of said pump forming the base of said fuel receptacle, said fuel receptacle and pump body having a passage connecting the same, a pipe Within said fuel receptacle extending up from Said passage, a manually operable pump piston Within said pipe, a Suction pipe connecting the pump and the tank, and a pressure pipe connecting the pump and the explosion chamber of the engine. y

6. ln a fuel supply system, the combination of an internal combustion engine provided With a fuel feeding device, a fuel tank, a fuel receptacle mounted above the level of the fuel feeding device, a pipe leading from the receptacle to the fuel feeding device, a pump operable by the forces of eX- plosion of the fuel in the engine, the body of on the opposite side of the diaphragm to the explosion chamber of the engine, a suction pipe leading from said tank to said pump, and a second pump mounted Within the receptacle for causing a flow of fuel from said tank to said receptacle When the first pump is idle.

In testimony whereof l have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

CLARENCE CARSON.

Witnesses:

EDWARD N. PAGELSEN, HUGO W. KREINBRING. 

